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The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr. as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.1 The Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Smith received these plates in 1827 from an angel named Moroni,2 whom Smith identified as a resurrected3 indigenous American who had written and abridged parts of the book over a millennium ago. According to Smith, Moroni had buried the plates in a stone box, along with other ancient artifacts,4 in a hill near Smith's home in Manchester, New York. The Book of Mormon is the earliest of the defining publications of the Latter Day Saint movement. The churches of the movement typically regard the Book of Mormon not only as scripture, but as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, written by American prophets from perhaps as early as 2500 BC to about AD 4005 The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. It is written in English, very similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible, and has since been fully or partially translated into 108 languages.67 The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve8, the nature of the Atonement9, eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death10, and the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Contents The contents of the current printing of the Book of Mormon by the LDS church are: *Title Page *Introduction *The Testimony of Three Witnesses *The Testimony of Eight Witnesses *Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith *A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon *The First Book of Nephi *The Second Book of Nephi *The Book of Jacob *The Book of Enos *The Book of Jarom *The Book of Omni *The Words of Mormon *The Book of Mosiah *The Book of Alma *The Book of Helaman *The Third Book of Nephi *The Fourth Book of Nephi *The Book of Mormon *The Book of Ether *The Book of Moroni *Pronouncing Guide *Index See also *Structure and Orginization of the Book of Mormon *Chronology *Doctrinal Teachings *Textual History of the Book of Mormon Footnotes #Smith (1830, title page). In 1982, in an effort to clarify and emphasize its purpose, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) retitled its editions of the book to The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ LDS Church (2008). #Roberts (1902, pp. 11, 18–19). #Smith (1838, pp. 42–43). #See also Sword of Laban, Urim and Thummim #"Praise to the Man" Gordon B. Hinckley, Church President from 1995 to 2008, mentions the millions who have believed in the Book of Mormon, Statistical Report 2007 #http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Brochures/King_James_Bible_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.pdf #http://www.lds-mormon.com/bookofmormonquestions.shtml#BOM10 #See for example #See for example #See for example References *Smith, Joseph, Jr. (March 26, 1830). [http://www.inephi.com/Search.htm The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi]. Palmyra, New York: E. B. Grandin. *Roberts, B. H., ed (1902). [http://books.google.com/?id=EylEIEiOmZAC History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]. 1'. Salt Lake City: Deseret News. *Smith, Joseph, Jr. (July 1838). "Editor's note". ''Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints '''1 (3). External Links *Text of the Book of Mormon *Resources for the Book of Mormon at the Maxwell Institute